India and Vietnam have designated 2027 as the ‘Year of India-Vietnam Friendship’ to commemorate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations. The announcement was made during the 19th India-Vietnam Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) held in New Delhi.
Both nations have committed to achieving a bilateral trade target of $25 billion by 2030.
Hussein Ali Mwinyi, the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, visited India at the invitation of Vice President CP Radhakrishnan.
The visit reinforced the India-Tanzania Strategic Partnership, focusing on bilateral trade, investment, and capacity building.
Mwinyi met Union Minister S Jaishankar to review development partnerships, including the IIT Madras Zanzibar, which serves as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for higher education in Africa.
During the visit, he attended the 63rd convocation of IIT Madras and unveiled the master plan for the 200-acre IIT Madras Zanzibar campus at Fumba Peninsula.
It is to be noted that this is the first international IIT campus of India.
Union Minister S Jaishankar has launched India's campaign for election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2028-29 term at the UN Headquarters in New York. The campaign is themed "SHANTI: Securing Holistic Advancement through Norms, Trust and Integrity".
It is to be noted that the UNSC comprises 15 members, including five permanent members with veto power (China, France, Russia, UK, and USA) and 10 non-permanent members. India has served as a non-permanent member of the UNSC eight times.
Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi visited India to participate in the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi. Both leaders held a bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
During the summit, both countries announced 16 key outcomes to expand bilateral cooperation. The leaders also attended the Japan-India Joint Economic Forum, hosted by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in New Delhi. The forum witnessed the inauguration of the 4th vehicle manufacturing facility of Maruti Suzuki in Kharkhoda, Haryana.
Union Minister S Jaishankar has co-chaired the 9th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with the Foreign Minister of Suriname, Melvin Bouva. During the visit, he also met with the President of Suriname, Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, and the National Assembly Chairman Ashwin Adhin.
During the trip, India handed over a passion fruit processing facility completed under Indian grant assistance and offered soft loans to Suriname for infrastructure and strategic sectors.
Additionally, During his visit to Trinidad & Tobago, Union Minister S Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with the PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar, to discuss bilateral collaboration. A total of 8 MoUs were signed between India and T&T to strengthen cooperation across various sectors.